Associate Broker, Long & Foster Real Estate
The Week Between Christmas and New Year Holidays that fall on a weekday have a tendency to scramble my brain and timeline. Thank goodness for the regularity of Monday trash pick up and other Sunday and Monday household chores I forced myself to do, despite the holidays. The week between Christmas and New Year feels Read More …
Less Than One Week Until Christmas With one of the largest holidays of the year happening in less than one week, is anything happening in the world of Bristow/Gainesville real estate? You bet. Buyers are still looking for homes. And those sellers undeterred by listing during the holiday season are reaping the rewards of being Read More …
Pros & Cons of Disclosing the Existence of Other Offers on Your Home When sitting down with sellers and filling out our listing agreement, sellers sometimes get caught off guard by the question of whether or not they wish for me to disclose the existence of other offers on their home to inquiring buyer agents. Read More …
Communication is the Key to a Smooth Deal If there is one common denominator to a deal where parties lose trust in one another, is it lack of communication. In real estate deals, communication is the key to success. There can be bumps in the road, but waiting until the eleventh hour to disclose the Read More …
Monday, My Favorite Day of the Week When I was a cubicle warrior, commuting into DC and Arlington, I hated Mondays. Friday, of course, was my favorite day of the week then. TGIF is a common phrase, so I was not alone. Something changed in my attitude and weekly outlook when I became a real Read More …
Whenever I take a new listing, the preparation for pictures is critical. First of all, I believe in professional photography for my listings. I tried to keep up with the advancements in technology as long as I could, continuing to take my own listing photos up until 2017, but that is when I left it Read More …
Light Staging in a Bathroom Makes a Difference Vacant homes in a seller’s market will sell, but they always get more attention and sell for more if you dress them up a bit. Above is a before picture of a bathroom in a townhouse listing. Put in some towels, decor and soap and voila! A Read More …
It Takes a Great Agent to Recognize Another Great Agent If there is one thing that I have learned about the real estate industry since becoming a part of it in 2005, it is that not everyone licensed to do this job bring the same level of seriousness and professionalism to it. It’s the same Read More …
Do Sellers Get to See the Buyer’s Appraisal? If a seller is seeing a buyer’s appraisal, there is a problem. The only time a seller gets to see their buyer’s appraisal is if the value is lower than the agreed upon sales price. At least, that’s how it works in the Northern Virginia area, which Read More …
Sellers Sure Get Generous as Moving Approaches Moving is one of life’s ugly chores. Boxing up everything you own can be an overwhelming task. You get to see how much stuff you had that you simply forgot about. Makes you re-evaluate what you actually want to take with you. I often counsel sellers with a Read More …